God's Sovereignty
over All Nations
Book of Jeremiah
Chapter 18
A message I love
dearly. The Potter's House. The main ingredients of the Potter's
House are the wheel, the potter, and the clay to be molded.
We must understand
that every message from the Prophet Jeremiah was given to him by the
Lord!
Every time Jeremiah
spoke, he spoke the words of the Lord.
Had Jeremiah spoken
his own words, he would have spoken against the Lord.
Jeremiah wept
because he knew that whatever Jehovah said was the complete truth and
Jeremiah had a great love for his nation and its people. Even then he
did not love them as much as the Lord did.
We may never
understand what the Lord is doing but we just must understand that
what the Lord is doing is the right thing to do!
So, let's go with
Jeremiah down to the Potter's House.
*****Jer 18:1 The
word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2 Arise, and
go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my
words.
We must clearly
understand that the work of the potter, even when those earthen
vessels can be beautiful, they are fragile and easy to destroy. It is
the same with human life!
The most wonderful
of all God's creations are the human beings but we are very fragile
and very easy to destroy.
In many cases the
Potter can take that broken vessel made of this earth and put it back
together as something brand new!
There are many
things that we do not understand such as, why is there so much evil
and wickedness in this world?
Why does God allow
this evil to continue, when He certainly has the power to put a stop
to it all?
The thing we must
understand about the Potter is that his creations are under direct
control!
The Lord has the
sovereign right and the absolute power to save or to condemn as He
chooses because He alone is God.
It is this same
sovereign God who sets the standards for His creations to be saved or
to be condemned.
Because of the
"Mercy" of the Lord, He is never impulsive in His actions
nor is He unreasonable in His request!
Our Lord is neither
a dictator nor is He a tyrant!
He is just a loving
God who expects righteousness because He is righteous in all His
actions whether we agree or not!
We do not have the
intelligence to say our Creator has done wrong or has done right
according to our own expectations.
The LORD is holy in
all the things He does!
We can all learn
some valuable lessons down at the Potter's House!
*****Jer 18:3 Then
I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on
the wheels.
Jer 18:4 And the
vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so
he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make
it.
There is not one
living person nor any religion, including evolution and atheism, that
cannot understand the work of the Potter!
What did Abraham
ask?
Gen_18:25 That be
far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the
wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far
from thee: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right"?
I can tell you today
that the Potter, our Lord will always do right because He does not
know how to do wrong!
Doing wrong is
something that is very far from the Lord.
Humans are the
greatest of all God's creations and He tolerates us enough to offer
choices and He respects the choices we make.
He will still allow
for our repentance when we have made the wrong choice. How can anyone
find fault in the ways of the Lord because there are none!
The prophet Jeremiah
was not to miss this important lesson and the Holy Spirit intended
for us all to visually see this lesson from the wheel of the Potter.
If we cannot see it
here, then maybe we need to take a trip to the potter's house that
exist today. The same lessons can still be learned!
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O
man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed
say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not
the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Even today there are
craftsmen who make pottery basically the same way it was done in the
days of Jeremiah.
There is the potter,
the wheel, and his clay that he has chosen for a certain result.
Jeremiah was
watching as the potter found a flaw in the work he was doing, and he
looked to see if he had made a mistake when he saw a flaw in the clay
and he had to start over again.
In the Potter's eyes
every piece of clay contained its own individual master piece and He
would make and remake each piece of clay until was satisfied that
what he made was a true jewel of craftsmanship!
Then the Lord said
to Jeremiah.
*****Jer 18:5 Then
the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of
Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold,
as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house
of Israel.
We must understand
that we are all a creation of the Master Potter and we are certainly
to be a work of His own hands.
The Lord can do to
people, to communities, and to nations as He pleases and remember it
is the goal of the Lord that every single individual to come into a
personal relationship with Him.
Sometimes people
reject the truth of the Lord, but we as the children of the Lord are
still to be witnesses of the truth.
Sometimes our
communities reject the truth of the Lord, but we as the children of
the Lord still are to be witnesses.
Sometimes our
nations reject the truth of the Lord, but we as the children of God
are still to be witnesses.
It is our job to
witness and pray in the locations the Lord has placed us and it is
the Lord who will send the Holy Spirit to convict those who have
heard the Word of God and the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus
Christ!
It is the Almighty
God who truly holds all His creation in the palm of His hands!
Sometimes our clay
is so full of debris that the Potter must break us and start over
again. In fact, when we reach that point that we are broken down
completely, this is when the Potter does His greatest work!
We must certainly
keep in mind that what God does today is in preparation for His
Master work in the future and He just allows and prefers us be a part
of it!
It is the Scriptures
that take us through the history of Israel, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
Phoenicia, Greece and Alexander the Great, and Rome and the circle
continues until it has reached back to Israel.
We are nearing the
end of the Church Age and the Lord's next move has been taught by
most all the prophets of the Old Testament, beginning with the Birth
of Christ.
God does not create
robots, or machines that would automatically praise and worship Him,
so it should be obvious that the Lord is preparing those who choose
to live with Him throughout eternity!
Act 3:19 Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when
the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Act 3:20 And he
shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Act 3:21 Whom the
heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things,
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the
world began.
And the truth of God
as I have said, allows more than one chance to accept that what He
says is true. In fact, until the day you die a physical death, you
will have an opportunity to repent and be saved as long as you have
not stepped over God's red line of forgiveness. Even God has a "Red
Line" that must not be crossed. There is a sin unto death!
1Jn_5:16 If any man
see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and
he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a
sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
1Jn_5:17 All
unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
God says just leave
all these things in His hands and just tell as many as you can about
the truth of the 'Gospel"!
Rom 10:9 That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.
Rom 10:10 For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there
is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord
over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
This truth will
never change! Why would we think we could ever interfere with God's
ultimate plan!
*****Jer 18:7 At
what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a
kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
Jer 18:8 If that
nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will
repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
We should also
understand that the wrath of God comes when we least expect it.
Luk 17:24 For as
the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven,
shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of
man be in his day.
Luk 17:25 But first
must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
Luk 17:26 And as it
was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of
man.
Luk 17:27 They did
eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage,
until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and
destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28 Likewise
also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they
bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29 But the
same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from
heaven, and destroyed them all.
The Lord teaches us
to watch and He teaches us what to watch for, so we can know when an
Age is about to end.
I firmly believe we
are nearing the end of the Church Age because of the things we have
already seen happen in our world and continue to happen.
The thing that is
also true is the fact that when the Lord is chastising, He is craving
for repentance, so He does not have to do the things He says He will
destroy.
Anything that our
Lord God does is out of love for His children. When God is your
Father you can better understand all these things.
Again, the Lord
gives us "Free Will" to make the choices we make, and the
Lord will honor our choices and the Lord will spend some time
teaching us why we made the wrong choice before He fulfills the
things He said He would if we reject His words!
Isa 55:6 Seek ye
the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Isa 55:7 Let the
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let
him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our
God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isa 55:8 For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the LORD.
We do not have the
right to question the things that God does! We should never question
the Lord's intelligence!
God does not owe us
an answer to every question we ask Him! In fact the Lord does not owe
us an answer to any questions we have.
The Lord says who He
is and that should be enough, but He loves us too much to stop there!
*****Jer 18:9 And
at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a
kingdom, to build and to plant it;
Jer 18:10 If it do
evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of
the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
As a people how can
we deny that there is a power revealing itself in the changes and the
choices of human history. There is a power shaping the course of this
world until it reaches that place where He has decided.
When some unexpected
calamity strikes down an individual sinner, most people see this as
the "judgment" of God, but it may not be judgment at all.
We cannot deny that
"providence" asserts itself in human affairs.
Heb 1:3 Who being
the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb 1:4 Being made
so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they.
Heb 1:8 But unto
the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre
of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Heb 1:9 Thou hast
loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Heb 1:10 And, Thou,
Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the
heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11 They shall
perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a
garment;
Heb 1:12 And as a
vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou
art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
It cannot be denied
that our Divine Potter has total control of His creation.
*****Jer 18:11 Now
therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against
you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from
his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
We are also foolish
if we cannot see that our God, our Lord, is all about repentance!
Our Lord would have
everyone to be saved so He says, "Return Return". God has
so much love for all His creation that He almost begs us for
repentance.
God has established
"free will" but He has also established "judgment"
both are His laws that must be enforced. This thing we must believe!
We can trust the
Word of God to be true!
It is the law of
repentance that brings "salvation"!
Eze 18:21 But if
the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and
keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall
surely live, he shall not die.
If we choose to
reject and deny the LORD, cursing His holy name, we will certainly
face "judgment" and be condemned!
Act 17:31 Because
he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath
given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the
dead.
What did the people
of Judah say?
*****Jer 18:12 And
they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices,
and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
The greatest problem
we have in ourselves is, we refuse to believe that we cannot save
ourselves!
It is these types
that are hopeless and beyond repentance and the Lord knows who these
people are, and He will recall the Holy Spirit from them and also His
conviction.
These people know
themselves that they are then on their own and without God!
They let the Prophet
Jeremiah know he was wasting his time and again we see a reason for
this Prophet of God to weep for his nation.
Carnal minds will
continue to search for life’s answers in this world, where no such
answers exist!
It is only by
"Grace" that we can escape from the condemnation of this
world!
It is only by
"Faith" that we can have peace with God!
Many people are
looking for salvation of another kind and another place, that simply
does not exist!
So, history will
certainly repeat itself on the Day of the Lord!
Gen 6:5 And GOD saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it
repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved
him at his heart.
Again, we see that
word "therefore".
*****Jer 18:13
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath
heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible
thing.
God said to
Jeremiah, ask all those in the world who worship false gods if they
would leave such a God as Jehovah!
If you are searching
this entire world for a God who makes such promises as the Lord, one
cannot be found.
The Lord presents us
with a book of Scriptures that describe all His desires and all His
actions and never leaves out the terrible times of His people, when
others would.
Jehovah by His
actions and by His Word shows that He is the only true Almighty God!
Mat 23:37 O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not!
The virgin Israel
has certainly done a terrible thing!
*****Jer 18:14 Will
a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the
field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place
be forsaken?
We have gotten
totally confused when we can forsake a greater good for something
much less.
Pro 25:25 As cold
waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
We serve a God who
has unlimited resources why in the world would we forsake our God for
some false object that has no resources at all!
The worst thing that
can happen to a military unit is for the enemy to get behind it and
cut off its supplies.
When we forsake the
true God of all "Grace" we have allowed Satan's false gods
to come between us and our true God!
We have cut
ourselves off from the fountain of living waters!
Jer_2:13 For my
people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain
of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water.
Jer_17:13 O LORD,
the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they
that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have
forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
When has nature
changed her ways to suit the politics of any people!
The Lord God Jehovah
will never change His ways to satisfy any one group of people nor for
any or all people.
What was the verdict
for the Judah of this day?
*****Jer 18:17 I
will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew
them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
What is the sinners
doom, those who reject God's Divine Government?
They are guilty of
idolatry.
They have rejected
the "Mercy" of God.
They have become
enemies of the Gospel.
They have forgotten
the truth and traded it for lies.
They will see the
wrath of God and if they do not repent. Then they will perish to a
life that is not life but a place of eternal doom!
Amen!
Let's Pray!
